Nophek Gloss - Essa Hansen

I've never been super into the Sci-Fi side of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Hard Sci-Fi just doesn't really do it for me. The alien episodes of the X Files were always my least favourite, and though Battlestar Galactica will always be in my Top 5 TV Shows, it was the characters I loved, not the fact that they happened to be in space (though a viper launch will never fail to give me goosebumps). However, given my previous non-fiction foray into space travel, I decided to keep the theme going and read the very space-y Sci-Fi book I got for Christmas. The only difficulty really, was finding appropriate props for the pictures!

The only life Caiden has ever known is beneath the huge domes on his home planet, raising bovine at the command of the shadowing figures he knows only as the Overseers. When all the bovines are wiped out by illness, Caiden's whole world comes crashing down - literally. His home world, his family, his life, gone in an instant. On the run from the Overseers, Caiden's only hope of survival is a salvaged ship and a crew of misfit aliens who take him under their wing, and show him that there's much more to the multiverse, and himself, than he ever could have imagined. Hell-bent on revenge, Caiden will stop at nothing to bring down the slavers that destroyed his home planet, even if that means infiltrating their regime, even if it kills him.

This book definitely falls into the Space Opera subgenre of Sci-Fi, though there are some elements of hard Sci-Fi here too, and a lot of fantastical technology and species, as you would expect. I liked a lot of the creativity with the xenids (aliens - though I do have trouble believing that in all the complex diverse multiverse, everyone would be categorised into humans OR xenids). Each species is unique and well described. I particularly liked the xenids whose emotions are expressed on their skin. However, I didn't feel like this depth of description was extended to other elements of the story, like environments or technology. There's always going to be a fair amount of reader imagination involved in this kind of genre, but I was really struggling to picture some parts of the story at all due to sadly lacking description and explanation. There was a lot going on, and so much of it glossed over. A glossary would certainly have been handy!

There's a lot going on with the characters too - although, as I said, their appearances were well described, there were so, so many characters introduced in such a short space of time that I had trouble connecting with them, or even caring much about them. In all fairness, this is the first in a series, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and hope that you're given more of a chance to get attached to characters as the series progresses. There is certainly potential: there's very good representation and most of the side characters have clear personalities. Not that I'm the expert on the situation, but this might be some of the best (only?) non-binary and gender fluid representation I've read in the genre (of course any further recommendations are greatly appreciated!). Hansen also tackles grief and trauma really well, as well as the different ways in which people cope. The pacing and plot were generally good, but there were a few moments that seemed rushed over - in places Caiden's motives/the reason for decisions aren't clear, and the story does seem to jump, and employ a couple of deus ex machina moments here and there - coincidences are nice, but too many can be a little too convenient

There's a lot of talk about family (not quite Fast and Furious level, but getting there) and the connections that Caiden feels for the rest of the crew and vice versa, but the book never seems to show where these feelings developed, especially over such a short period of time. Found family is a solid trope in space operas, and this story leans heavily into it, but there just isn't a whole lot of justification for it - why would this hardened crew of passagers agree to let a kid keep a ship that valuable, and feel the need to put their own lives on the line to help him out after only a few days (weeks?). Again, this may become more apparent as the series progresses, but it felt rushed for the purposes of the plot.

Don't get me wrong, it's an enjoyable read, and it's nice to get out of my comfort zone every now and then. I did call the ending from about a quarter of the way in, although this might be because I sometimes feel like I have seen/read every possible plot there is, and am becoming extremely jaded and grumpy at my grand old age of 31. I'm willing to forgive a lot in a debut novel, especially if there's promise there, so I will probably pick up the second book to see how it progresses and if I can get more attached to characters. I will recommend it too - if you grew up watching Star Trek, and fell in love with Firefly, it's probably worth giving this a go.